INDIANAPOLIS – Youngstown State senior Brandi Brown was tabbed the Horizon League Player of the Year highlighting the Horizon League’s 2012-13 Women’s Basketball All-League Teams and specialty award winners in voting of the League’s coaches, sports information directors and media.
Brown’s coach, Bob Boldon was named Coach of the Year after leading the Penguins to a 21-8 mark and a second-place finish in the Horizon League regular season. It’s YSU’s first 20-win season since the 1999-2000 team went 22-9.
Cleveland State’s Shalonda Winton was named the Defensive Player of the Year. The senior forward finished the regular season with the most blocks (38) of any player in the League and was third in the conference in steals with 65 in 29 games for an average of 2.2 per game.
Loyola’s Taylor Johnson was the Newcomer of the Year after averaging 14.3 points per game (16.6 ppg., in conference play) and leading the League in steals with 81. Johnson is the first Rambler to be named Newcomer of the Year since Sheryl Porter earned the honor following the 1988-89 season.
Detroit junior Yar Shayok repeated as the Sixth Player of the Year, after recording seven double-doubles and ranking among League-leaders in rebounding and blocked shots.
Brown finished the regular season tops in the League in rebounding at 11.3 per game and second in the League in scoring at 20.5 ppg. Brown led a Youngstown State team picked eighth in the preseason to their highest League finish since joining the Horizon League.
Brown was joined on the first team by Winton, Detroit’s Shareta Brown (20.3 ppg., 9.3 rpg.), Green Bay’s Adrian Ritchie (13.6 ppg., 2.7 spg.) and Loyola’s Simone Law (17.4 ppg., 8.5 rpg.).
Richie and Shareta Brown were both First-Team selections last season, while Ritchie is a First-Team honoree for the first-time in her career after being on the Second-Team last season.
The All-League Second Team consisted of Johnson, Wright State’s Kim Demmings (19.7 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 4.5 apg.), Valparaiso’s Tabitha Gerardot (15.0 ppg., 9.0 rpg.), Green Bay’s Sarah Eichler (11.4 ppg., 3.3 apg.) and UIC’s Katie Hannemann (14.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg.)
Johnson was joined on the All-Newcomer team by UIC junior Rachel Story (15.6 ppg., 3.7 apg.), Wright State junior Ivory James (11.5 ppg.), Youngstown State freshman Shar’Rae Davis (League-most 127 assists in the regular season) and Detroit freshman Rosanna Reynolds (4.2 apg., 1.75 assist-turnover ratio).
First-Team All-League members Winton and Ritchie headlined the All-Defensive team, while Second-Team All-League players Eichler and Johnson were also on the five-player team. The Sixth Player of the Year, Shayok, was the fifth and final player on the All-Defensive team.
The 2013 Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship tip-offs on Monday, March 11 with ninth-seed UIC playing at eighth-seed Valparaiso. The rest of the League team’s begin play on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. The Horizon League title game will be played at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 17, on ESPNU.
2013 Horizon League Awards
Player of the Year
Brandi Brown, Youngstown State
Newcomer of the Year
Taylor Johnson, Loyola
Defensive Player of the Year
Shalonda Winton, Cleveland State
Sixth Player of the Year
Yar Shayok, Detroit
Coach of the Year
Bob Boldon, Youngstown State
All-League Teams
First Team
Brandi Brown (Sr., F) – Youngstown State
Shalonda Winton (Sr., F) - Cleveland State
Shareta Brown (So., F) - Detroit
Adrian Ritchie (Sr., G) - Green Bay
Simone Law (So., F) - Loyola
Second Team
Kim Demmings (So., G) - Wright State
Tabitha Gerardot (Jr., F) - Valparaiso
Sarah Eichler (Sr., F) – Green Bay
Taylor Johnson (Fr., G) - Loyola
Katie Hannemann (Jr., C) - UIC
All-Newcomer Team
Taylor Johnson (Fr., G) – Loyola
Rachel Story (Jr., G) - UIC
Ivory James (Jr., G) – Wright State
Shar’Rae Davis (Fr., G) – Youngstown State
Rosanna Reynolds (Fr., G) - Detroit
All-Defensive Team
Shalonda Winton (Sr., F) - Cleveland State
Adrian Ritchie (Sr., G) - Green Bay
Taylor Johnson (Fr., G) – Loyola
Sarah Eichler (Sr., F) – Green Bay
Yar Shayok (Sr., F) – Detroit
